sarah in nyc

Once again, my phone service is out. This time though we also have no internet. So, now I am across the street from my house at Starbucks. I also have a crummy cold. Verizon says they will restore service by the 31st.

My youngest turned 18 on Monday. I will give you a moment to let that thought sink in. But as our family tradition dictates, he got to choose both the guests and the menu for tonight. I had found this recipe and thought that my son would find it really appealing for dessert. He did.  I began making the recipe yesterday and discovered that the dough was not just crumbly but there was no way it could hold together. It was like sand on the beach. I noticed that there were no eggs listed in the cookie ingredients and added first one egg and then another to the dough.That was a massive improvement.  I don’t mind doing cooking that is time consuming but I hate fussy work for it’s own sake. Rolling and cutting cookies always starts out fun but by the time you are done you want to shoot yourself. I had made a batch of refrigerator cookies earlier in the week for tonight’s dinner, and loved the ease of slice and bake cookies. I decided to form these chocolate cookies t...

I am making a tallit for Yaara. Yaara’s grandmother died just a few months ago.  Yaara and her grandmother were close ( they lived in the same building).  That death is leaving a real hole in the upcoming event. When we met to design Yaara’s tallit her mother mentioned that when Yaara’s grandmother turned twelve her relatives from Romania sent an embroidered blouse as a gift.  We initially thought that it might be nice to incorporate that blouse into  the tallit. Matt, Yaara’s father was reluctant to do anything that might permanently alter the blouse. As it turns out, the colors won’t work with the colors we chose for the tallit. I think that I can copy the design motif onto the pinot/ corner pieces.   Here is the blouse. It’s made out of a even weave linen gauze.   The design was probably counted off  rather than being drawn on the fabric.  I have seen this sort of work done in cross stich before, but never in these loosely form...

That is, of challah covers. The text of this one is Seudata D’malka , the royal feast. It comes from an aramaic formula that is recited before   birkat hamazon.   This text is not recited in my community but it is recited in some communities. regardless, it’s a nice idea for a challah cover.   The crown was first painted onto the Ultrasuede and then further embellished with a mix of hand and machine stitching. The lettering was painted by hand. On paper I think that none of these fabric ought to go together. In reality though, they all play nicely. The fabrics are, from the center working out, an upholstery weight Ultrasuede, rayon, cotton and metallic checkerboard ribbon, an assortment of striped tie silks in oranges and yellows and a mystery fabric satin that I block printed with a crown motif . I bound the cover with a vintage black velvet ribbon which is attached with a blue metallic thread sewn in an arrowhead pattern. On paper, it sounds crazy. But in ...

Purim begins Saturday night, but today is Pi Day. In celebration I made two pies.  The main dish pie was a bit of a challenge negotiating between the various vegetable likes and dislikes among tonight’s eaters. One hates broccoli, the other detests spinach, a third hates onions. I made a mushroom pie with some very sautéed mushrooms. For me Purim marks a culinary  break between winter foods and spring foods. Right after Purim oranges become dry and gross. Spring fruits and vegetables begin to appear in the stores. This seemed like the last moment in the season to eat pumpkin pie. But as much as one loves pie, you can’t live on that alone. So we have  another iteration of last week’s potatoes cooked in chicken fat and chicken juice. I also made sweet and spicy meat balls. The heat comes from an African peanut based spice mix that packs a whole lot of heat. There is the merest buzz of heat in these meatballs and the sweet comes by way of berry jam. This is a slightl...

    I finished Ella's tallit yesterday morning. In the afternoon, Ella came by with her mother and grandmother to tie the tzitzit.  When I first started making tallitot  I used to tie the tzitzit for my clients. What I have learned over time is that the act of tying the tzitzit  creates a real ownership of the tallit by my client.  I think of it as the halachic term kinyan ,   literally taking ownership. When family members participate  in the act of tying the tzitzit a truly sweet family moment takes place in a quiet setting before the hubbub of the bar or bat-mitzvah.   Ella was  accompanied by her mother and her grandmother. Grandma began asking me about the sources for wearing tallit.  As I filled Grandma in on some of the historical background of tallit, she informed me that she was an Art Historian specializing in the art of ancient Mesopotamia. Clearly this was not your run of the mill Bubbie. I usually have the...

With the exception of the eyelets, Ella’s tallit is complete.  It’s such a serene looking piece which is a bit ironic considering what a wild week this has been. My nephew has been in the hospital up the street for most of the past week. His parents live in Boston so I have been doing my bit as  the nearest adult relative.  Most of the reasons for my nephew’s being in the hospital was over aggressive medicine and the horrible side effects from the aggressive medications.  My nephew is now back in his dorm room. He is completely fine. The resulting drama has left me anxious and tired and prone to mistake making. Unfortunately, heavy white silk charmeuse does not have very much of a margin of error.  I’m being not quite accurate . There is zero margin for error with this delicious fabric. But, the tallit is finally done. I haven’t done the eyelet’s yet because I’m too tired to do them without doing something stupid. I will do them in the morning.   T...